


A Little Loving Care

by RaeDMagdon



Series: The Best Entertainment [22]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/F, Fingering, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Parenthood, The Best Entertainment, melding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-29
Updated: 2016-08-29
Packaged: 2018-08-11 21:25:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7908169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaeDMagdon/pseuds/RaeDMagdon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aria comes home late at night after a dangerous scrape, but Tevos is worried about more than her minor injuries.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Little Loving Care

It started early in the morning, with a soft groan from down the hall.

Tevos blinked, reaching above the covers to rub her eyes. She stretched out her other hand, feeling the opposite side of bed, but her palm met a cold, empty space. The warm body that should have been next to hers was missing. Aria wasn't beside her.

"Love?" she murmured, but she knew she wouldn't get an answer. The sound that had woken her was coming from too far away. Aria had left their room in the middle of the night, Tevos wasn't sure know how long ago, and was only just returning.

The groan came again, a little louder this time, and something about the tone sent an unpleasant jolt down Tevos's spine. She sat up, sweeping the sheets aside and setting her feet on the floor.

"Aria?"

No answer came. Even the groaning had stopped.

Growing more nervous by the second, Tevos hurried to the closet and removed her bathrobe from its hook—a necessity, dealing with the late-night needs of a toddler. She shrugged it on, still fumbling to knot the belt as she opened the bedroom door. Her stubborn, shaking fingers wouldn't cooperate, and it took several moments for her to stumble out into the hall.

"Aria?"

This time, there was a response, a low, rasping: "Thea..."

Cold fingers of dread squeezed around Tevos's heart. It was Aria's voice, familiar but hoarse with pain. She wasn't even sure how she recognized it, because she had never actually heard anything like it before. Abandoning her attempts to fasten her bathrobe properly, she rushed down the hall.

What she saw when she burst into the living room, her open robe still fluttering against her sides, only confirmed her worst fears. Aria was slumped against one wall, doubled over with one arm wrapped protectively around her midsection. She held herself stiffly, conspicuously different from her usual grace and ease. Blood streamed from one of her temples and down her cheek, gathering at her clenched jaw, and her eyes held a mixture of blazing anger, exhaustion, and relief.

"Help me to the bathroom," Aria said, not an order, but a tired request. "Don't wake our daughter."

Tevos balked. There was blood on Aria's face, a sticky purple that stood out darkly against her skin, almost black in the shadows of the hallway. "The bathroom? No, you need a hospital! I'm calling an ambulance—"

"Don't." Aria attempted to straighten, but the new posture only made her seem more wounded, more cornered, like an injured animal at bay. "No ambulance. No hospital. It's just some cuts and cracked ribs."

"You're bleeding," Tevos began, shaking her head, but Aria continued talking over her in a firm whisper.

"I'm sorry. Help me to the bathroom and I'll take care of it."

Tevos crossed her arms over her chest. She had never let Aria boss her around outside of the bedroom before, and she wasn't about to start now. "No. This isn't up for negotiation. You're injured. You're going to a hospital, and that's final."

"Please..." Aria gave her a completely different look then, one filled with such agony and fear that it shocked Tevos into silence. "Lycoris. I want to be near our daughter, Thea. Just... try to patch me up in the bathroom. If you still think I need a hospital after that, I'll go. With both of you."

Normally, Tevos would have argued. Aria's health and safety shouldn't have been up for debate, and a hospital was clearly the best place for her injuries to be treated. But... but something in Aria's voice, especially when she had said their daughter's name, made Tevos think about it more clearly.

_ She's afraid. _

It was a startling realization. Even during the worst parts of the war, Aria had rarely shown fear. She had stood up to all sorts of monsters: adjutants, banshees, and even Reapers themselves, all while keeping her head. The only time Tevos had seen  _ this  _ expression on Aria’s face was when Petrovsky had abducted her.

Suddenly, she understood.

_ Of course she doesn't want to go to the hospital. She thinks someone will come after Corrie. _

"Who did this to you?" she asked, trying to keep her own fear in check.  _ Are they going to come for us? _

"No one important," Aria said. "Things got heated between Eclipse and the Blood Pack. I resolved the issue."

_ But she still wants to be near her family, just in case. _

It was almost sweet, in a way—but Tevos knew Aria wasn't likely to put her feelings into words. Maybe through a meld, but that could wait. "Let's clean you up," she said, closing the distance between them. It was a relief to run her hand along Aria's arm and take it over her shoulder, to feel the steady cadence of Aria's breathing up close, to look into her eyes and see the spark of life in them despite the cloudy sheen of pain. "Then we'll decide about the hospital."

Aria's sigh tickled the side of her neck. "Thanks."

Together, they made their way toward the bathroom, trying to stay silent. Tevos paused as they passed the door to Lycoris's bedroom, listening intently, but no sound came from inside. Apparently, Aria's return hadn't disturbed her.

"I want to see her," Aria whispered. She made to pull away and limp over to the door, one hand already outstretched to open it, but Tevos stopped her.

"You can check on her once you're clean and bandaged. She'll be afraid if she sees you bleeding like this."

Aria made a noise of reluctance, but she seemed to agree. She allowed herself to be led back into the bedroom and toward the bathroom, although she insisted on walking the rest of the way herself. Tevos followed at a short distance, watching over her until she was seated safely on one of the shower benches.

"Let's get you out of that jacket first."

A furrow appeared in Aria's brow, and her lips twisted into an unhappy shape. "Think it's salvageable?"

Tevos looked at the dirty, ripped, and partially bloodstained leather jacket. She doubted it, but she knew better than to say so while Aria was still in this state.  _ She has a closet of others just like it. She can part with this one. _ Carefully, she helped Aria raise her arms, working them through the sleeves as gently as she could. Aria made a few low noises of pain, but tried to stifle them.

Once the jacket was off, Tevos was treated to a better view of Aria's injuries. Her bondmate didn't appear to have any deep wounds, but there were plenty of cuts and abrasions along her side, as if she had taken a fall and skidded across concrete. The flesh was already turning a darker purple-blue, showing signs of a deep bruise. Instinctively, Tevos winced. The injuries weren't serious, but they did look painful.

"Medigel," Aria said, half-demand, half-request.

Tevos smiled, melting a little with relief. Only a few years ago, it would have been all demand. "I'll get the kit."

Once she retrieved it from the shelf, Tevos went about the slow process of cleaning and bandaging Aria's battered body. She started by dabbing away the blood on Aria's temple with a wetted cloth, and was relieved to see that most of it was dried. A little more welled out at her attention, but a healthy smear of medigel stopped the flow. Once Aria's face was clean, Tevos caressed her cheek, bringing their lips together in a soft kiss. It wasn't sexual, or desperate, or fearful, but simply comforting. Simply feeling Aria's skin warm beneath her hands was enough to ease the knot in her stomach.

Once their mouths parted, Aria smiled. "See? I don't need a hospital. You're doing just fine."

"That remains to be seen," Tevos said sternly. She gave Aria another brief peck on the forehead before moving on to her torso. Undoing the straps of her corset was a simple task, one Tevos had repeated so many times she could have probably done it with her eyes closed. Once it was off, she began cleaning Aria's scraped side, wiping the worst parts down and covering them in medigel. About half way through, her fingertips probed a sensitive spot, and Aria hissed in discomfort.

"Someone got in a good hit," Tevos said, moving back to safer territory.

"So did I," Aria grumbled. "They're dead."

Tevos's nose wrinkled. Normally, she didn't like Aria gloating about her kills. She didn't even like hearing about them. But for once, she was grateful.  _ Better them than her. _ "Do you think anything is broken?" she asked, examining the worst cluster of bruises.

"Cracked ribs, from the feel of it. The shot of medigel Grizz gave me should take care of that in a few hours. I just have to keep still."

"Where is Grizz, by the way?" Tevos asked.

"Outside at his post," Aria said. "Where else would he be?"

"And he let you walk in on your own?"

Aria's eyes narrowed. "Our kid is in the apartment. I told you, I resolved the situation, but I'm not taking any chances."

Tevos sighed. Back when they had first started seeing each other, she never would have considered the Queen of Omega capable of such selflessness. The Aria of only a few decades ago was ruthless, and selfish, and concerned with her own interests above everyone else's. But over the years, things had changed. Aria gave her full heart rarely, but she loved those who held it fiercely. Tevos knew without a doubt that Aria would have done anything to keep Lycoris safe, and that included limping back here to their apartment to check on her, ignoring her own injuries in the process.

"Nothing is going to happen to Lycoris," she promised, but it didn't do much good. A shadow of fear still lurked behind the anger and pain in Aria's eyes, fear Tevos doubted a few words of reassurance could fix. "Aria..." She grasped Aria's hand, and wasn't surprised when her bondmate squeezed back hard enough to crush her fingers. "Will you embrace eternity with me? I need the reassurance."

It wasn't all a lie. Tevos did want the reassurance, even if the suggestion was mostly for Aria's sake.

Aria hesitated, but at last she gave a stiff nod. "Fine. But don't push."

Tevos smiled. There was affection and gratitude hidden behind Aria's flat tone, and with the help of the meld, she knew she would find more. "I promise." She reached out, not bothering with a formal 'embrace eternity', simply brushing the edges of Aria's mind with her own and asking for entrance. It was almost like a kiss—not in the sexual sense, but in the trust it took during the split second that mouths met and merged. After a moment of tension, Aria opened for her, and Tevos found herself able to bleed through the lines that separated them...

_ 'Lycoris. I have to get to Lycoris.' _

_ Her side aches fucking awfully and her vision is blurred thanks to the blood oozing from the slash across her forehead, but she forges on anyway. There are still two Blood Pack members left. Two potential problems that could resurface and do her loved ones harm if she doesn't deal with it now. She isn't going to let another Petrovsky situation happen, that's for fucking sure... _

Tevos withdrew, trying to collect herself. Aria's memories were more vivid than she had expected, and so was the pain. But after she adjusted, she dove back in, prepared to patch up Aria's mental wounds just as she had the others.  _ 'This isn't the same situation, Aria. No one is going to hurt our family...' _

_ The pistol barks twice, splattering what's left of the batarian's head. Once his four eyes blink shut and he exhales a final time, blood leaking from the corners of his cracked brown lips, Aria removes her foot from his chest. She scowls, wiping the blood from the sole of her boot on the dead merc's armor before placing a hand gingerly against her side. Cracked ribs at least, maybe broken. _

_ 'Doesn't matter. Lucky shot. Have to keep going—' _

_ 'No, Aria. You don't. You're home with me.' _

_ 'I know. But—' _

_ 'But nothing. Lycoris is fine. I'm fine.' _ Tevos reached deeper, past flashes of falling bodies and biotic explosions, honing in on where the pain was worst. As soon as she touched it, she felt herself being lurched forward:

_ "I'm telling you, Gron, just let me handle this. Eclipse won't touch your trade routes if I order them to back off." _

_ The battlescarred krogan laughs, shaking his massive head and showing yellowed, cracked teeth. "You're going to order them? Heh. And what makes you think they'll listen? You've gone soft, Aria. Ever since you got a wife and kid..." _

_ Suddenly, he's floating three feet off the ground, surrounded by purple light threaded with white and gasping for air. "Don't test me, Gron. I've ruled this station for more centuries than you've been able to hold a gun. The only thing that's 'soft' in this room will be your brain once I smear it against the wall." _

Instead of pulling away, Tevos latched on tighter, holding Aria for all she was worth.  _ 'You know that isn't true, Aria. You know love isn't always weakness. Look at Shepard. Look what she was able to do because of her love for Liara and her friends and her people. And look at what you've been able to do these last few years, because of Lycoris and me.' _

_ 'I know...' _

Their daughter's face rose to the top of Aria's mind, as clear as the real thing. She was smiling, and Tevos recognized her own eyes staring back of her.  _ 'Of course she looks more like me in your head,' _ she thought affectionately, adding a few of her own details. She chiseled out the shape of Lycoris's jaw, painting a face that was fresh and youthful, but remarkably like Aria's.  _ 'She's going to be fine, Aria. She has the best of us both.' _

Those seemed to be the magic words. At last, Aria relaxed, and Tevos sighed with relief as well. Thanks to the meld, she had taken on all of Aria's feelings as her own. The last of the barriers between them crumbled, but instead of a flood of fear, Tevos felt only a sweet rush of gratitude that warmed her to the tips of her fingers and toes.  _ 'Lycoris is lucky to have such a courageous father—' _

_ '—and such a loving mother.' _

_ 'I love you...' _

_ 'I love you, too.' _

Tevos didn't realize they were kissing until she felt the gentle press of Aria's tongue against her lips. It was something of a surprise, but she didn't object to it either. She reached out curiously, trying to understand what Aria wanted, but with their souls entwined, it wasn't difficult. Aria wanted a deeper connection, a mating meld, the reassurance of being one for a little longer.

Her first instinct was to say no, but the unexpected and unusual tenderness with which Aria asked—kissing her softly, caressing her cheek, asking with pure feelings—changed her mind.  _ 'All right. But for once, you have to listen to me and stay perfectly still...' _

It was apparently a compromise Aria was willing to make. There was no power struggle as their tongues brushed. There was no fight for dominance as Aria caressed the sensitive folds at the back of Tevos's neck. There were no filthy words as Tevos slid her hand down along Aria's stomach and unfastened the front of her pants. Aria lifted, only experiencing a dull, distant sort of pain at the movement, and Tevos pulled them down far enough to reach what she wanted.

Aria was already wet. Maybe it was because they were so intimately joined already. Maybe it was simply the closeness between them as they sat together on the shower bench, tangled up in each other's arms. Either way, Aria's body was as open as her mind, and Tevos had no trouble at all seeking out the slick entrance to her azure. She sank inside with only the barest amount of pressure, and Aria's hips canted softly into her hand, a plea for more.

_ 'Still,' _ Tevos reminded her, but soon, she forgot her worries. Aria was warm and tight and eager around her fingers, and she curled them knowingly, searching out the sensitive spots she had learned so well. She felt Aria shudder as she sought them, sharing the spikes of pleasure that the deep, insistent strokes caused. Aria's fingers tightened around the back of her neck, nails digging in just a little, and Tevos captured the tip of Aria's tongue, sucking slowly.

Aria had been right. This was something they both needed.

Their peak crept up on them instead of crashing like the break of a wave. Instead, it was a slow and steady swell, rising so subtly that neither of them noticed until they were balanced on the edge. Tevos placed the pad of her thumb over Aria's ridge, sweeping across it with slow, firm circles, and Aria squeezed even tighter around her fingers, sucking them in deeper. Then the ripples started, and both of them moaned into the kiss, sharing the taste of salt and sex and the sweet joy of being alive.

It was blissful. Beautiful. The ripples passed back and forth between them, spiraling on and on until they had to break apart to breathe. They panted, smiling into each other's mouths, still trading softer pecks because they didn't want to be parted yet. Tevos wasn't surprised to find her palm drenched once their release faded, but the fact that her cheeks were too was more of a shock. Someone had been crying, but with her cheek pressed so close to Aria's, she wasn't sure who.

_ 'Thank you,' _ Aria thought, wiping a teardrop that had dripped down to her chin and resting their foreheads together.

Tevos laughed.  _ 'So polite...' _

_ 'Only to you.' _

She withdrew her fingers, keeping her hand cupped between Aria's legs to give her lover a chance to recover. Only then did she remove it completely, shifting back to her side of the bench. "How about I wash my hands and get you into a fresh shirt? Then we can go see Lycoris."

"Yes." Aria stood, and to Tevos's immense relief, she didn't seem to be moving quite so stiffly. "I think that medigel's kicking in."

Tevos cleared her throat.

"Along with a little loving care from you, of course."

"Don't worry," Tevos said, unable to resist smirking. "Just because I get to see your softer side once in a while doesn't mean you aren't still every inch Omega's Queen."

Aria nodded as she finished pulling up her pants. "Don't worry. After tonight, I doubt any of my subjects will be questioning me in the near future." She cast a sad look at her jacket, shaking her head in disappointment. "The problem with killing everyone, though, is that there's no one left to send your drycleaning bills to..."

Tevos rose from the bench, squeezing Aria's elbow and helping her step out of the shower even though she didn't really need the extra support. "I'll replace it for you. New boots, too. And maybe a new corset."

"That would be for your enjoyment more than mine," Aria pointed out dryly.

Tevos didn't deny it. Instead, she headed to the sink and cleaned her hands.

It didn't take the two of them long to get Aria into more suitable clothes. Her old, bloodstained ones were tossed in the garbage, replaced with a soft, clean shirt that was loose enough to avoid rubbing against her injuries. Tevos finally fixed her bathrobe, and together, they exited the bedroom hand in hand.

"I don't want to wake her," Aria whispered as they headed down the hall toward Lycoris's door. "Just see her..."

"I know." Tevos listened for a moment, but there wasn't any noise coming from inside other than the sound of light snoring. Satisfied, she opened the door, allowing a beam of light from the hallway to illuminate the inside of the room.

Lycoris was sprawled on top of the covers instead of beneath them, drooling onto her pillowcase. Her eyelids twitched slightly, but remained shut. Tevos felt Aria squeeze her hand tighter, and she smiled, dipping in just far enough into her bondmate's mind to communicate without speaking.  _ 'See? She's fine.' _

Aria sent back a pulse of love, but let go of her hand and severed the connection. She slipped through the crack in the door, kneeling beside Lycoris's bed despite the stress it put on her battered body. Then, tenderly, she ran her hand over the top of Lycoris's crest, placing a kiss on her forehead.

Tevos knew it was no use going back to their own bed. Lycoris's was smaller, but it would have to do. With a sigh, she closed the door, padding over to join her bondmate and daughter. "Get in," she murmured, clearing away some of the bunched-up blankets to give Aria a space to lie down. She did so gratefully, cradling Lycoris in her arms, and Tevos climbed across the foot of the bed to settle on the other side.

In the morning, Lycoris would awaken to find both her parents in bed with her. She would probably want to cuddle for a while, and then climb all over both of them while making demands for breakfast. Already, Tevos knew she would volunteer, just to give Aria a few more minutes with their daughter.

_ But first, sleep.  _ With both Aria and Lycoris safe in bed with her, Tevos thought she might be able to drift off again, at least for a little while. And if the nightmares came, all she'd need to do was reach out. Aria and Lycoris would be right there, warm and close, breathing gently.


End file.
